Girls basketball: Hampton's DuChene leading Berwick Academy to a successful season

Friday

Jan 17, 2014 at 2:00 AM

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — When it comes to the Berwick Academy girls basketball team, Maggie DuChene of Hampton is right in the middle of what could turn out to be a season of unprecedented success.

STEVE CRAIG

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — When it comes to the Berwick Academy girls basketball team, Maggie DuChene of Hampton is right in the middle of what could turn out to be a season of unprecedented success.

DuChene started playing on the varsity as an eighth grader on what was then a very youthful team. Now the cohesive unit that emphasizes passing, movement and shared scoring on offense with persistent on-ball pressure and plenty of double-team traps on defense.

"I'm glad I'm a part of it," DuChene said after scoring 10 points Monday as Berwick beat Brewster Academy, 55-16.

"We've all been on the team for quite awhile and it's nice to see us progress and grow into the type of team we are now," DuChene said.

Berwick Academy plays in the Eastern Independent League, made up of prep schools with modest-sized enrollments. Berwick has an upper-school enrollment right around 300.

Brian Sanborn has been the Bulldogs' head coach for 17 years. Sanborn came to the private day school after nine successful seasons coaching and teaching at Traip Academy in Kittery.

Earlier this year Sanborn earned his 300th overall career win against EIL power Beaver Country Day, the team Berwick will probably need to go through to claim its first-ever EIL championship.

"This is the best team I've had here at Berwick," Sanborn said. "It would take a lot to beat them. We played four (Maine) Class A teams in the preseason and won three of those and lost the other in overtime."

So far this season, DuChene is the team's leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game.

Against Brewster, she and the other starters saw reduced playing time. Sanborn noted in the three previous games against stiffer competition DuChene scored 18, 12, and 18 points, respectively.

"Those were tough teams with good team defenses and she's thriving," Sanborn said.

DuChene started to become a major contributor as a sophomore, helping Berwick earn one of eight spots (out of 33) in the New England Prep School Class C tournament.

"My first two years we had juniors and senior post players," DuChene said. "I would come in and play some. Last year I started to play more and this year has been a big transformation and I've become one of the main components of the offense."

DuChene had long since become a part of the Berwick Academy community.

Jennifer and Todd DuChene enrolled Maggie and her twin sister Emily prior to their fifth-grade year. In addition to basketball, Maggie DuChene was the manager on the soccer team and is a member of the varsity lacrosse team.

That makes for many long days, particularly with the 35-to-40 minute one-way commute from Hampton.

"It's nice that they can drive now," Jennifer DuChene said. "Still, they leave the house at 7 in the morning and usually aren't getting home until 6 on non-game days."

"It's hard to balance (homework and sports) but I've been doing it since fifth grade so I'm used to it," Maggie DuChene said.

Just a tick under 5-foot-10, the red-haired DuChene has become the "queen of the high-post position," in Berwick's offense, Sanborn said.

Against the smallish Brewster defense, DuChene adeptly received passes from the wing, usually from the senior captains Rebecca Siegel or Torie St. Pierre.

From there, DuChene would make a quick decision among three standard options: pass it back to a teammate, drive to the bucket, or turn and shoot.

After taking her defender to the basket a couple times, Duchene made a smooth face-up 17-footer that gave Berwick a 24-9 lead midway through the first half, signaling it was time for the starters to have a seat.

In the second half, Berwick cranked up both its fast break and its pick-and-roll, with DuChene again getting in the center of the action.

She showed her work ethic by clearing a defensive rebound to start the break, then sprinting down court where she was able to tie up an offensive rebound, resulting in an extra possession Berwick cashed in for two points.

"I'm all about hustle," she said. "If I don't get it, then try to run back and get the offensive rebound."

Later she rolled to the hoop after setting a pick for St. Pierre and showed good hands to catch-shoot-and-score with St. Pierre's on-target pass.

"I take basketball very seriously, I'd like to play in college," DuChene said. "I think I'm ready for that type of commitment."

Sanborn said he knows DuChene is willing to do the work. She's demonstrated that with off-season strength and conditioning training and plenty of basketball as a member of the New Hampshire Elite AAU program.

Sanborn's also seen DuChene's commitment in the classroom.

"She's one of the top students here," Sanborn said. "She's an all-A student. Well, not quite. She missed an A in one class. I know because it was in the Advanced Placement Chemistry I teach. She missed it by one point. And I'm sure she'll find a way to earn that one point this semester. That's just the type of person she is."

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